On President Trump’s first day back in office, Representative Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey, hit him with a new political mantra. His barrage of executive orders, she argued, had failed to make any attempt to address the “affordability crisis.”
It was an early sign of where the Democratic Party was headed. Nearly a year later, Ms. Sherrill is preparing to take office after winning her bid for governor. And “affordability” is dominating the political conversation.
The word has long been used sporadically in politics — Mr. Trump promised to “make America affordable again” during his 2024 campaign — but never with the same force and frequency as in the past few months.
Democrats used “affordability” to harness worries about the cost of living and sweep to victory in this November’s elections. And once that happened, references to “affordability” as a stand-alone term skyrocketed.
‘Affordability’ is the political word of the moment
Mentions of “affordability” as an umbrella term in emails from members of Congress
Now both parties are preparing for affordability — a useful shorthand that nods to the costs of housing, child care, groceries, health care, utilities and other essential expenses — to play a major role in the midterm elections next year. Survey after survey has shown that Americans rank economic concerns as their top issue and increasingly worry they are falling behind financially.
That has left Republicans playing catch-up. Even as Mr. Trump contends that the word is a “hoax” and a “con job,” he is traveling the country on an “affordability tour” to reassure voters. The Biden administration was “when we first began hearing the word affordability,” Mr. Trump said in his recent televised address.
So far, the efforts haven’t worked: Approval of his handling of the economy has been falling for months.
